Hate to come across as Freddy Philistine here, especially in the face of such obvious visual/literary artistry, but I'm immediately suspicious of a retrospective on the life of the first notable, American, black film maker that largely leaves out the film making! How come scenes from "Learning Tree" make the cut but not "Shaft" or, dare I even say it? "Superfly"? Is Parks ashamed of being a pioneer of the Blaxploitation movement? If so, why? Is he saying that the Hollywood part of his life is somehow extraneous to the rest of it? If so, then that's kinda pretentious, isn't it?
Bottom line: An incomplete or, if you're less kind, a beautifully superficial retrospective. Solid C.
Bottom line: An incomplete or, if you're less kind, a beautifully superficial retrospective. Solid C.